Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 1808
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted 6-0 last week to sell seven parcels of borough-owned land to Skylark Park LLC at half their appraised value. The reduced price reflects the project's public benefit purpose: creating at least 20 new residential lots in a community facing a dire housing shortage. The assembly authorized the sale of the lots for $55,500 - 50% of their $111,000 appraised value and well below their $188,300 assessed value. The sale includes Lots 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 in Block A of...
After years of planning and development, Petersburg's Scow Bay Boat Haulout project is nearly ready for construction. PND Engineer Dick Somerville presented a progress report on the 65% design completion at a joint work session with harbor board, assembly and economic development officials on Wednesday morning. Somerville highlighted that all the necessary funding has been secured for the $15.07 million project, the permitting is in progress, and as long as the federal government eventually...
The final piece of funding is in place for replacement of the deteriorating breakwater system at Banana Point, with construction expected to begin next spring. The Petersburg Borough Assembly accepted a $78,000 contribution last week from the Petersburg Indian Association to close a gap between the project's existing budget and the lowest construction bid. The borough has issued a notice to award to bidders and plans to present a contract for assembly authorization at its next meeting,...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly has reversed its previous decision about an application to buy borough-owned land. Dave Ohmer is a local developer who wants to purchase two lots on Haugen Drive to build housing rentals. When the borough assembly initially considered his application in July, Ohmer stressed the need for more housing in town. "It's endless, the people that need homes in Petersburg," Ohmer told the assembly on July 21. "For a young family, it's virtually impossible to get into a... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously approved the appointment of Michelle Lopez to lead both the elderly housing and assisted living operations at Mountain View Manor, consolidating two director positions that had been separate for the past three years. Lopez, who has served as the Elderly Housing Director, will assume the combined role of Assisted Living and Elderly Housing Director at an annual salary of $100,000. The assembly voted 6-0 to approve the hire at its Oct. 21 meeting. "I'm...
At the start of Monday's Petersburg Borough Assembly meeting newly elected assembly members Bob Martin and Jeff Meucci were sworn into office by Borough Clerk Becky Regula. The swearing-in was followed moments later by newly elected Petersburg Mayor Bob Lynn offering remarks of appreciation and gratitude and presenting a commemorative gavel to outgoing, long-serving Petersburg Mayor Mark Jensen....
Petersburg's municipal election received the highest number of ballots this year in over a decade. A total of 1,280 ballots were cast and canvassed, including one outstanding ballot. It was the highest turnout since Petersburg voted to become a borough in December 2012, which saw just over a hundred more ballots than this year. There were a couple of contested races for local office this year, namely for mayor and for Petersburg's Borough Assembly. It was Bob Martin's first time running for an a...
Bob Lynn decisively won Petersburg's mayoral race in the October 7 municipal election, defeating fellow assembly member Scott Newman 807 to 443 votes, while Proposition 1 - limiting the senior sales tax exemption to only low-income seniors - squeaked by with a nine-vote margin. The unofficial results showed strong voter participation, with a record-breaking number of early and absentee ballots cast before election day (647) and the highest local voter turnout (1279) since the borough formation...
During Monday's meeting, the Petersburg Borough Assembly approved a $768,330 design-build contract, for the Scow Bay standby diesel generator project, marking the next step forward on a voter-approved bond-supported capital project that has been in development for more than four years. The contract, awarded to Dawson Construction LLC of Juneau, covers engineering design, heavy equipment moving tasks and project commissioning for the new generator facility. "It is important to note that the...
Petersburg’s borough assembly is taking up U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan’s offer to talk about H.R. 1, also called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). H.R. 1 is a wide-ranging spending and tax bill that was signed into law in July. The bill includes much of President Trump’s domestic policy agenda, including changes to Medicaid, tax cuts, and phasing out clean energy tax incentives. In Alaska, the bill directs more oil and gas leases in Southcentral’s Cook Inlet, and offers tax cuts for whaling captains. Many impacts of the bill in Alaska...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly heard from Tidal Network representatives during Monday's assembly meeting, as the organization's proposed communication tower has raised some concerns in the community. On September 2, the assembly voted unanimously to proceed with direct negotiations for the sale of a small piece of borough-owned land, 10,040 square feet of adjacent to the fire hall, to the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska for its broadband enterprise, Tidal...
The Wrangell port commission has started work on a proposed ordinance intended to solve the problem of inactive vessels taking up moorage space while a growing waitlist strains harbor capacity. Commissioners discussed the idea at their Sept. 4 meeting. Harbormaster Steve Miller said there are about 25 to 30 boats waiting for moorage space, prompting the look at new rules. Inactive vessels taking up space is an ongoing problem, Miller reported to the commission. Harbor staff “have been working diligently to address vessels that have been i...
In a recent KFSK interview, Donna Marsh, a candidate for reelection to the borough assembly, made the unprompted statement that neither she nor her husband had ever been a government employee. She said it smugly, as though it were a good thing. Ms. Marsh wears on her sleeve her contempt for government employees. These are the people who carry out the daily business of the government that she wants to continue leading. Antigovernment sentiment is misplaced when directed toward the people who don’t control what government does but merely e...
Proposition 1 Yes – 633 No – 624 Petersburg Borough Mayor (One 3-year term) Bob Lynn – 807 Scott Newman – 443 Borough Assembly (Two 3-year terms) Bob Martin – 825 Jeff Meucci – 539 Donna Marsh – 520 Raliegh H. Cook – 286 Tony Vinson – 221 School Board (Two 3-year terms) Sarah Pawuk Holmgrain – 1,042 Hospital Board (Three 3-year terms) Joni Johnson – 933 Cindi Lagoudakis – 874 Joseph Stratman – 853 Planning Commission (Two 3-year terms) Write-in: Joshua Adams – 66 Planning Commission (One 2-year term) Sarah Fine-Walsh – 833 Harbor & P... Full story
Q: Ideas to increase economic opportunity? "Natural resources, timber, commercial fishing, mining. This town was built on fishing, and whereas some of the problems that the industry is facing, this town alone cannot solve them altogether. But I think we have the people, and I think we have the voice to make a call to action to change some of the legislation ... and capitalizing on the opportunity that we've got: Logging ... the thing is, with trees, they grow back, and we all live in houses...
Q: Ideas to increase economic opportunity? "The smaller cruise ship tourism ... and the Scow Bay haul-out has potential ... once that facility is created, a mobile, submersible travel lift, to haul boats out ... a new cruise ship dock that would be a partnership between borough and American Cruise Lines ... the more medical treatment we can do in town, those dollars will circulate through here before they leave, those big dollars ... and the act of building the housing will help our economy...
Q: Ideas to increase economic opportunity? "Off the top of my head, I would say, address the housing issue. I think with new construction comes more jobs and more jobs increase revenue and economy. The local economy will spend more than local stores and services and things of that nature." Q: How do you plan to prepare for meetings and make time for this responsibility? "With my extremely long commute to work - across the street - I feel like I have time. And I mean, I guess, especially during t...
Q: Ideas to increase economic opportunity? "For the business owners I've been talking to over the last month, you know that they one of their biggest concerns is there's not enough local tradesmen in town ... maybe a borough school partnership program for scholarships for kids who want to go to become electricians, refrigeration person, or welder, mechanics, and so they come back to Petersburg and work. We need to make sure that we have the basis for the local services in town covered so that...
Bob Lynn's decision to run for mayor wasn't made lightly. "It wasn't an easy decision for me at all."But he sees a need for the community to become more self-reliant as times become more challenging and costs shift from state and federal government to the local level. He says he is willing to listen to and work with all and has demonstrated his ability to help guide decision making: "I have the time to do this, and I have the experience. I'm hoping that I get a chance to try some ideas and see...
Scott Newman decided to run for mayor because he feels "there hasn't been strong leadership, advancing any advocacy towards the big projects in the community like the hospital and in tourism ... I kind of feel like we've had a bit of a dysfunctional process." "We could be advocating more strongly, at a state and federal level for these projects that we have going on, mainly the hospital," Newman told the Pilot in an interview. "I just don't feel like we've been doing enough in that direction....
Heartfelt Appreciation for Your Courage and Dedication To the Editor: We are writing to express our deepest gratitude and appreciation for all the people that showed presence, courage, professionalism, and quick response during the recent active shooter lockdown at the Children’s Center. Your unwavering commitment to the safety and well-being of the children and each other was nothing short of extraordinary. In the face of an incredibly distressing situation, you remained calm and provided reassurance to the staff and children in our care. Y...
There are several contested races in the Oct. 7 borough election. Check out the sample ballots published in this week’s paper to review who is running and to read the ballot proposition asking voters whether Petersburg’s senior sales tax exemption should be limited to low-income seniors only. This Monday, Sept. 15, a live call-in show on the ballot proposition will be broadcast on KFSK at 12:30 p.m. The radio station’s newsroom invites those with questions on the ballot proposition to call in during the show to (907) 772-3808 or email quest...
A regional tribe wants to buy around 10,000 square feet of Petersburg Borough-owned property near the town's Fire Hall. The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, a federally recognized tribe based in Juneau, has applied to the borough to purchase the plot off Haugen Drive. The tribe wants to build a wireless tower there next summer to provide internet service and expand cell coverage in Petersburg. The Petersburg Borough Assembly considered the tribe's application...
After 35 years working in local public radio - 27 years as general manager of KFSK in Petersburg - Tom Abbott has reached retirement. It'll just require a bit more crisis management before he can fully clock out. In an interview with the Pilot, Abbott said he provided KFSK's board of directors a resignation letter last year, with 18 months built in to pass the torch to the station's next manager. He hoped a successor could be hired and would arrive by this summer and the two could work together...
The window to file for candidacy in Petersburg's upcoming local election closed Tuesday afternoon. In total, 24 people filed for the various positions. There are 20 open seats among several boards slated for the October 7 ballot, including a mayoral race. That race is contested this year, as are the races for Petersburg Borough Assembly and the Public Safety Advisory Board. Current assembly members Bob Lynn and Scott Newman are both running for mayor. Mayor Mark Jensen is not running for...
